TERROR TUESDAYS AT THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY!!

Following last year’s successful October shenanigans, Jon Kitley of Kitley’s Krypt and I will be returning to the Sulzer Regional Library (4455 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago IL 60625) for another installment of TERROR TUESDAYS!


Week #1:
TUESDAY, 10/3 6:30pm

Rule Makers/Rule Breakers: Horror Directors of the 1920s-1960s

Folks like Tod Browning, James Whale, Jack Arnold, Terence Fisher, and George Romero gave us the classics that sparked and defined the genre.

DR. AC ON THE AIRWAVES!!! (RECENT PODCASTS, INTERVIEWS, ETC.)

Howdy, folks!

As you might have noticed (last month not withstanding), things have been a little quiet around here lately. Chalk it up to a fairly nonstop schedule of personal training, health coaching, and self-defense workshops which has not afforded me the chance to dedicate much brainspace to the moving image. (Although it has afforded me some pretty substantial IRA contributions, heyooooooooo....)

However, please don’t infer from my relative silence that I have given up on chatting about all things spooky and ooky. Far from it, in fact. I’m still a regular foot soldier with the Kryptic Army over at Kitley’s Krypt, I served as both contributor and co-copyeditor for Vanessa Morgan’s latest book, Evil Seeds (celebrating malevolent kiddies onscreen over the last century), I was invited to participate in Webster University’s month-long “April Fulci” program, I was a recent guest on the sensational new podcast It’s Not That Scary, and our old pal Ian Simmons over at Kicking the Seat has been kind/foolish enough to offer me a place at the table at least once a month (and sometimes more) to chat about all things Hammer, gialli, and Scare-a-Thon over the past year. I’m wildly blessed to be surrounded by all manner of prime movers who are willing to have me ride along, even when I’m not producing on my own platform.

With that in mind, I thought this would be a grand time to highlight some of those programs, in the hopes that you, Faithful Readers, will BOOKMARK THIS POST and give them a listen, watch, or read during your next patch of quiet time.

Enjoy!!!!

HIDDEN HORROR News and Reviews, PART III!

Greetings, fellow fiends!

It's been a grand month or so since we last checked in with news of everyone's favorite compendium of rantings and ravings from the darker quarter. There have been accolades and acolytes, convention rails and monster sales, and we owe it all to the support of bloody brothers and sisters like YOU.

First off, we are thrilled to announce that HIDDEN HORROR has been nominated as "Best Horror Book of 2013" by the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. If you have not already, please stop by the Rondo Awards website and cast your vote!

The full ballot can be found HERE: http://www.rondoaward.com/

And don't forget to vote in category #11! (BEST BOOK)

LORNA THE EXORCIST (1974) / CASTLE OF FU MANCHU (1969) movie reviews

(Only got two flicks in this week, but since I had a bit to say about them, I figured I'd give them their own slot.)

I’ll come straight out and say it: I’m not really a fan of Jess Franco’s films. I’ve seen at least twenty of the prolific Spanish auteur's efforts at this point and there’s not one that I can point to as a “favorite” or even one that I genuinely “enjoy.” There are some that have more interesting elements than others (Venus in Furs, Awful Dr. Orloff, Vampyros Lesbos, and Eugenie), some of which even manage to entertain on occasion (though never, let it be noted, as a cohesive whole). When sitting down for a Franco flick, I am now braced for tedium, disappointment and/or questionable cinematic technique; while watching, I am frequently reminded of other, better films that proved more engaging, competent, challenging, artistic, etc. The guy might have made hundreds of features, but somehow this never translated into his becoming a genuinely accomplished filmmaker – in itself is a pretty amazing feat.

SEXCULA (1974) movie review

Sexcula (1974) (1st viewing) d. Holbrook, John (as Bob Hollowich) (Canada)

The Movie Fates are an odd bunch. Back in January of this year, my pal Jon Kitley (of Kitley’s Krypt infamy) loaned me his copy of They Came from Within: A History of Canadian Horror by Caelum Vatnsdal in order to conduct a little background research for the underrated Canuck slasher Curtains. But put a good horror reference book in my hands, and Vatnsdal’s is a quality one indeed, I’m going to read it cover to cover. In flipping through the many different terror titles from the Great White North, I was intrigued to find – amidst the frequent Cronenberg references – mention of a “lost” 1974 horror/porn flick called Sexcula which apparently had screened once and then vanished off the face of the earth. A rare maple syrup flick (made with government funds, no less) that combined vampiric chills and X-rated thrills? What wasn’t enticing about that? Unfortunately, that was pretty much where the story ended...

...until a couple months later when Synapse Films (under their Impulse label) announced that they would be releasing Sexcula to DVD. Ain’t instant gratification grand?

CABIN FEVER (2002) not quite a movie review

Cabin Fever (2002) (4th viewing) d. Roth, Eli

You know what? I’m not even going to review Roth’s divisive flesh-eating virus/cabin in the woods mash-up, not here, not in an official capacity anyway. First off, we’re got an in-depth discussion about the film over on Kitley’s Krypt as part of their Cinematic Crossroads program (a raucous round-table that includes Herr Kitley, Liquid Cheese 's Dave Kosanke, Big Gay Horror Fan 's Brian Kirst, Dead Weight writer/director John Pata and myself) which covers more ground with more divergent opinions.

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Secondly, I think it’s pretty fascinating that a flick I initially hated upon first viewing I’ve now seen on three subsequent occasions, as well as listening to all four (count ‘em FOUR) commentary tracks. As a result, my relationship with the film has changed; I’m now so familiar it’s like an old schoolmate. Interestingly enough, my feelings toward Roth have undergone a veritable roller coaster of status updates. At first, I liked him/hated his movie. Then I hated his movie a little less/liked him a little more. Liked him less as he entered his "Tarantino Jr." period but liked Hostel more than CF, then really didn’t like him, his Hostel sequel or his undeserved ubiquity in every horror-themed documentary or TV show. Nowadays, I’m somewhat sad that this horror geek-done-good has turned into a Hollywood player who’s seemingly lost touch with his roots and moxie. He’s directed a mere three features in a decade, dividing his time between “developing” projects that consequently implode and serving as a “presenter” of mainstream fright fare. Curious to see what the future holds.

Hey Hollywood, you suck. (WOLFMAN poster art)

Hey folks,

Our good friend Jon Kitley at KITLEY'S KRYPT weighs in on Universal's marketing team's decision to go from using kickass, genuinely intriguing poster images such as these: